producers: hippo, eibol, losaka, toe

Hand Held Aspects are part of the H Two A Crew, what they are quick to tell you. Hence the cover only features the name of the crew, but not of the group. We however can now start to wonder what's with their name. Whatever is behind it, they give us 17 tracks on this album, that came out in 2000. Yip, two years ago. But as the Aspects still forwarded this record to us to review, must mean that they are still as proud of it now, as they were back then. But does the music still sound contemporary after two years, or better: good at all? Let's find out. The sound quality, or better the mixing and somewhat unmastered sound of the album, is giving this away as very, very underground. What shouldn't be a surprise, nor really a statement about the quality of the music. It however does have us expect a certain type of rhetoric, if not to even say style and way to handle things. Hence the question will also be if it falls prey to some of the more common traps that these artists are so often enough not able to maneuver around.

That's however the gray theory, without it saying anything about Hand Held Aspects and their music. But once we are putting in the CD to check it out, are not thrown back a couple of feet's, due to the sheer unbearability of this music. Instead the three opening cuts "FDRS (fuckdisrapshit)", "Progressive Thoughts" and "100%MC" are drawing us closer with rather down to earth production, as well as lyrical content. The beats are simple, but not empty, and they feature enough ideas to be considered well thought out. While the lyrics are straying far off from being elitists. They rather speak about issues we can relate to, and may it be just talking about the wack hip hop and the wack emcees. On "Inquisitions" half the lyrics are flowed in Spanish, what is beyond our understanding. But the verses we do get continue the heartfelt statement "I hate Ricky Martin", that is being uttered in the wider concept of talking about stereotypes and stupid questions.

The album is then moving on through a host of different vibes and topics, from a guitary "Eyeyeye", to a rather dramatic "I Amaze Myself", which is a solo cut by Yorz True, who's lyrically trying to amaze himself with straight forward punchlines. Struggling with writers block are Eibol and Losaka on "The Blank Page", while "Steven's Cat" is an interlude featuring a beat by Hippo who's showing off with sampling Cat Stevens. One of the best tracks comes on next with "Reflections", where Heathcliff, Losaka, Yorz True and StayInSane team up over a dark and well crafted Losaka beat. Especially the complex drum is getting our attention. It is working as the bent spine that's meant to carry the lyrics, that are exactly talk about what the title has us expect them talk about. Losaka also did the beat on "Day & Night", where he's also the only cat rhyming on. And he's putting his words on something that seems better suited for the last two and first five ours of a day. He's then given the chance to show off with the instrumental "The Castle's Maid". And he uses this opportunity well, as this cut is proving the many ideas this cat has, and how he's able to combine them to one something that makes everything connect.

A freestyled "BraveHeart Speaks" is ending this album. And we have not much trouble to like this, although we consider it unfortunate that it suffers from a sound quality that is taking quite a bit away from the overall impression. Not because it makes the cuts, the beats or lyrics sound bad, but because there is probably a lot of crispness, of depth and of flavor being lost due to it. And especially the crisp is what we are missing in some of the lyrics, that are cool in content, cool enough in their execution, but they lack that final something, something sound size to give 'em the necessary impact. However, that's simply due to the means that must have been available to the Hands. What then on the other hand gives this album an unaltered charm. And before we start to ramble on about whatever we shall get a little more concrete again: while it was easy for these people to stand out with their lyrics, due to them being very much shaped by their characters, on the beat tip, we are still missing the distinct Hands flavor. But that only has us be eager for the next record, that must be due after two years. Cause we'd like to check out where their minds are at now. Or where their Hands are on right now.